Defenders of Ardania attempts to evolve that formula by letting players send wave after wave of soldiers right back at the enemy. While an interesting twist, this gamble turns into a stalemate; a simple battle becomes a lengthy and frustrating time sink that lacks the satisfying end of a strategic battle.

Defenders of Ardania attempts a design more akin to real-time strategy than tower defense. Unfortunately, by limiting control over the troops, it does not work as effectively. Certain units are irrelevant beyond the first few minutes of battle because they're too weak (even once leveled up). Additionally, each map has a finite numbers of towers available, so even if a player utilizes resources to the best of their ability, they remain curbed by defensive limitations. Even on double speed, the pace is painful. This makes a simple two-person battle turn into a lengthy saga of repeating the same actions over and over again.

Survival mode returns gameplay to simple tower defense, but again, because the tower count is limited, it's a frustrating way to play. Not only does this mode rip out the twist that makes the game interesting in the first place, it negates features from a genre that's already learned how to best flourish. Thus, it fails at executing its evolved design attempts and its roots.

Multiplayer takes place between two to four players on one of the eighteen campaign maps. There are very few customizable options. Multiplayer further reveals and amplifies design problems and creates lengthy battles (longer than single player) that seem to go nowhere. Where the key to winning a battle in single player is the AI's inability to heal its base, that element is gone when playing against human prey. Everyone can heal themselves (on a timer), so matches stretch into seeming perpetuity.